(a) For the purposes of this section, the following terms have
the following meanings.

(1) "Business registration certificate" has the same meaning
ascribed to it in section two, article twelve, chapter eleven of
this code.

(2) "Purchaser" means any person in the business of purchasing
scrap metal or used auto parts, any salvage yard owner or operator,
or any public or commercial recycling facility owner or operator,
or any agent or employee thereof, who purchases any form of scrap
metal or used auto parts.

(3) "Scrap metal" means any form of copper, aluminum, brass,
lead or other nonferrous metal of any kind, a catalytic converter
or any materials derived from a catalytic converter, or steel
railroad track and track material.

(b) In addition to any requirement necessary to do business in
this state, a scrap metal dealer shall:

(1) Have a current valid business registration certificate
from the Tax Commissioner;

(2) Register any scales used for weighing scrap metal with the
Division of Labor Weights and Measures office;

(3) Provide a notice of recycling activity to the Department
of Environmental Protection; and

(4) Register as a scrap metal dealer with the Secretary of
State, who is hereby directed to maintain a list of scrap metal
dealers and make it publically available. The list shall include
the dealer's business address, hours of operation, physical
address, phone number, facsimile number, if any, and the name of
the owners or principal officers of the business.

(c) Any purchaser of scrap metal shall make a record of such
purchase that shall contain the following information for each
transaction:

(1) The full name, permanent home and business addresses and
telephone number, if available, of the seller;

(2) A description and the motor vehicle license number of any
vehicle used to transport the purchased scrap metal to the place of
purchase;

(3) The time and date of the transaction;

(4) A complete description of the kind, character and weight
of the scrap metal purchased; and

(5) A statement of whether the scrap metal was purchased,
taken as collateral for a loan or taken on consignment.

(d) A purchaser also shall require and retain from the seller
of the scrap metal the following:

(1) A signed certificate of ownership of the scrap metal being
sold or a signed authorization from the owner of the scrap metal to
sell said scrap metal; and

(2) A photocopy of a valid driver's license or identification
card issued by the West Virginia Division of Motor Vehicles of the
person delivering the scrap metal, or in lieu thereof, any other valid photo identification of the seller issued by any other state
or the federal government: Provided, That, if the purchaser has a
copy of the seller's valid photo identification on file, the
purchaser may reference the identification that is on file, without
making a separate photocopy for each transaction.

(e) It is unlawful for any purchaser to purchase any scrap
metal without obtaining and recording the information required
under subsections (c) and (d) of this section. The provisions of
this subsection do not apply to purchases made at wholesale under
contract or as a result of a bidding process: Provided, That the
purchaser retains and makes available for review consistent with
subsection (g) of this section the contract, bill of sale or
similar documentation of the purchase made at wholesale under
contract or as a result of a bidding process: Provided, however,
That the purchaser may redact any pricing or other commercially
sensitive information from said contract, bill of sale or similar
documentation before making it available for inspection.

(f) No purchaser of scrap metal may knowingly purchase or
possess a stainless steel or aluminum beer keg, whether damaged or
undamaged, or any reasonably recognizable part thereof, for the
intended purpose of reselling as scrap metal unless the purchaser
receives the keg or keg parts from the beer manufacturer or its
authorized representative.

(g) Using a form provided by the West Virginia State Police,
or his or her own form, a purchaser of scrap metal shall retain the
records required by this section at his or her place of business
for not less than three years after the date of the purchase. Upon completion of a purchase, the records required to be retained at a
purchaser's place of business shall be available for inspection by
any law-enforcement officer or, upon written request and during the
purchaser's regular business hours, by any investigator employed by
a public utility or railroad to investigate the theft of public
utility or railroad property: Provided, That in lieu of the
purchaser keeping the records at their place of business, the
purchaser shall file the records with the local detachment of the
State Police and with the chief of police of the municipality or
the sheriff of the county wherein he or she is transacting business
within seventy-two hours of completion of the purchase. The
records shall be retained by the State Police and the chief of
police of the municipality or the sheriff for a period of not less
than three years.

(h) To the extent otherwise permitted by law, any investigator
employed by a public utility or railroad to investigate the theft
of public utility or railroad property may accompany a law-
enforcement officer upon the premises of a purchaser in the
execution of a valid warrant or assist law enforcement in the
review of records required to be retained pursuant to this section.

(i) Upon the entry of a final determination and order by a
court of competent jurisdiction, scrap metal found to have been
misappropriated, stolen or taken under false pretenses may be
returned to the proper owner of such material.

(j) Nothing in this section applies to scrap purchases by
manufacturing facilities that melt, or otherwise alter the form of
scrap metal and transform it into a new product or to the purchase or transportation of food and beverage containers or other
nonindustrial materials having a marginal value per individual
unit.

(k) (1) Nothing in this section applies to a purchaser of a
vehicle on which a catalytic converter is installed, a purchaser of
a catalytic converter intended for installation on a vehicle owned
or leased by the purchaser, or any person who purchases, other than
for purposes of resale, a catalytic converter or a motor vehicle on
which a catalytic converter is installed, for personal, family,
household or business use.

(2) In transactions not exempted by subdivision (1) of this
subsection, any person delivering five or more automobile catalytic
converters to a scrap metal dealer shall, in addition to the
requirements set forth in subsection (c) of this section, execute
a document stating he or she is the lawful owner of the catalytic
converters, or authorized by the lawful owner to sell the catalytic
converters. Next to his or her signature he or she shall place a
clear impression of his or her index finger or thumb that is in ink
and free of smearing. This documentation shall be maintained
consistent with subsection (c) of this section.

(l) Any person who knowingly or with fraudulent intent
violates any provision of this section for which no penalty is
specifically set forth, including the knowing failure to make a
report or the knowing falsification of any required information, is
guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction of a first offense
thereof, shall be fined not less than $1,000 nor more than $3,000;
upon conviction of a second offense thereof, shall be fined not less than $2,000 and not more than $4,000 and, notwithstanding the
provisions of section five, article twelve, chapter eleven of this
code, the court in which the conviction occurred shall issue an
order directing the Tax Commissioner to suspend for a period of six
months any business registration certificate held by that person;
and upon conviction of a third or subsequent offense thereof shall
be fined not less than $3,000 and not more than $5,000 and,
notwithstanding the provisions of section five, article twelve,
chapter eleven of this code, the court in which the conviction
occurred shall issue an order directing the Tax Commissioner to
cancel any business registration certificate held by that person
and state the date said cancellation shall take effect.

(m) No person may have or take possession of any scrap metal
that he or she knows, or has reason to know, has been stolen or
unlawfully obtained. Any person violating this subsection is
guilty of larceny.

(n) No scrap metal dealer may purchase, possess or receive
scrap metal that the scrap metal dealer knows, or has reason to
know, has been stolen or unlawfully obtained by the seller. Any
person violating this subsection is guilty of larceny.

(o) No scrap metal dealer may purchase, possess or receive any
of the following items of scrap metal, or any reasonably
recognizable part thereof, without obtaining written documentation
which reflects that the seller is authorized to possess and sell
the item or items and that the seller is in lawful possession of
the item of scrap metal:

(1) Utility access covers;

(2) Street light poles or fixtures;

(3) Road or bridge guard rails;

(4) Water meter covers;

(5) Highway or street signs;

(6) Traffic directional or traffic control signs;

(7) Traffic light signals;

(8) Any metal marked with any form of the name or initials of
a governmental entity;

(9) Property marked as or readily identifiable as owned by a
telephone, cable, electric, water or other utility provider;

(p) Nothing in this section prohibits a scrap dealer from
purchasing or taking possession of scrap metal knowing or have
reason to know that it is stolen or obtained illegally if it is
done pursuant to a written agreement with law-enforcement
officials.
Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2014 1st Special Session
The WV Code Online is an unofficial copy of the annotated WV Code, provided as a convenience. It has NOT been edited for publication, and is not in any way official or authoritative.